


Memories Long Lost from Hyrule

by CrescentViolett



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Different story perspectives, F/F, Falling In Love, Fantasy Violence, Fluff, Hints at romance, Hurt/Comfort, Love at First Sight, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22961401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrescentViolett/pseuds/CrescentViolett
Summary: Follow along the memories of a royal guard in hyrule, as she witnesses the end of the world.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Turbulent Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Edited by the wonderful VeloxVoid. Check out their work on ao3 and fanfiction net (same name)!!!

The king and princess were coming to Hateno village to see how the people were doing. A great festival was held in their sake, the main event being the royal family along with the guard walking through Hateno village. There were stands with all different types of food and drinks, the market full of screaming salesmen trying to sell their goods.  
Delphi, a small boy with oak brown hair, was hiding behind the corner of a building, looking at the stalls every so often. He saw the stand with his favourite food, meat skewers, getting crowded with customers. An almost too-easy target. He whistled towards a girl in the distance, and cocked his head towards the stand.  
Ariana was standing there; seeing her brother indicating the stall made her jump up and run through the streets, the people and even some of the stands. She hid behind a corner as well, before quickly darting forward and grabbing two skewers.  
The salesman grabbed her, but she threw the skewers to Delphi, who just ran past. Skilfully collecting the meat, he ran out of sight.  
“Now listen here you little brats,” the man started, before he screamed out in pain as he felt her boot dig into his foot, letting Ariana go. She giggled a bit before turning around and running away, towards her brother.  
Delphi and Ariana came to their gardens wheezing, and sat down on a big rock. “Here,” Delphi said as he held out one of the skewers. “Thanks.”  
Ariana set her teeth in the meat, hot savoury juice filling her mouth before a piece of meat came loose. She chewed it with pleasure, making sure she enjoyed every single bite.  
They were almost finished eating their stolen goods when their mother called them in. Quickly devouring the food and throwing the little sticks away, they went inside. Their mother sat them on a chair and made Ariana have a ponytail and cut Delphi’s hair short.  
"Mooom, I don’t want to have short hair! I want a ponytail too!" exclaimed Delphi.  
"You have to have nice hair, Delph. The king is coming and you two should behave." Their mother said the last word with extra force, right when Ariana was about to cut of her own hair to look like her brother. The mother seized the scissors out of her hand and placed them on top of the shelf.   
"You two will stand in line next to the other kids when the king arrives," she said, grabbing Ariana to make her hair into a ponytail again, "and you will greet him formally and answer the questions he gives you.”  
"Yes mother," the siblings said. When Ariana was released of the grip of her mother they ran out again, only to see a neat line of people along the walking path.   
They quickly darted away, towards a house that was always open for some reason. Finding the door to be locked, they looked at each other, confused. Smiling, they went around, looking for an open window. Sure enough, they found one and went in, searching for something to do while the festival was still preparing. “Hey, look what I got!” Delphi showed his sister a pair of scissors. She gasped and went to get a chair. After cutting her ponytail off, Delphi started to style it a bit more to the shape he knew Ariana liked.   
“There!” he said as he smiled at his sister. Finding a lost mirror he held it up for her. Ariana saw herself smile, her hair perfect in her vision. As Delphi put the scissors away again, Ariana stood up and looked out of the window. More and more people were gathering, going up the hill towards the village path.  
“You think we should head back?” Ariana said as Delphi joined her.  
“Maybe,” he answered, standing on his toes to look through the window. “What else do you want to do?”  
“Hang out with the sheep?”  
“C’mon Ari, that’s no fun.”   
“Well what do you want to do Del?”  
She heard his stomach growl and smiled at him. “Wanna grab another skewer?”  
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”  
She walked towards the door, turned the lock and opened it. “I’m sure it’ll be fine Del-“ she cut off her words as they stared right into the face of a farmer.  
Backing away, he went towards them, grabbing their shoulders and carrying them out. “There you are, your mother has been looking all over for you-“ He looked at Ariana, surprised to see her lack of hair. “Did you…? Doesn’t matter, we don’t have time for that now, c’mon up you go.”  
They were pushed to the other kids by the big farmer up the hill. "Behave," he whispered in their ears and walked away. After a while of standing and goofing around, the kids heard a loud trumpet; the king had arrived. All the kids went into their poses, except for Ariana and Delphi, who never learned how to greet royalty. So, they just stood there amongst the children who were standing so formally, trying to mimic them in some way. They found it rather amusing, and giggled. First only Delphi, who got pinched by his sister. The pinching became slapping, then punching and a few moments later they were crawling on the ground in a full-out brawl.   
Just as the pony of the princess turned the corner, two children came rolling in front of it, and it staggered, almost throwing off its rider. The siblings immediately stopped playing and Ariana shot forward, grabbing the leashes and trying to calm down the startled animal. After a few moments, the pony calmed down and placed its head in Ariana’s hand, searching for some food, but not finding any. Ariana looked at Delphi, but he wasn’t looking back. Instead he was staring up into the sky.   
"A-are you the princess?" he asked the rider. Ariana looked around and, immediately releasing the leashes, went into a bow, something she had seen the other kids do when the king walked past earlier. The princess gave them a small “yes”, which made them look up towards her. The white manes of the beast shone in the light, along with the dress of the princess. “Thank you,” she said.  
“No problem, miss,” Delphi said, his eyes squinting in the sunlight. “We hope we didn’t cause you too much trouble. Our apologies for the scare.” He bowed. Ariana looked up at the princess, who let a laugh at Delphi slip through.  
“It’s okay, young man.” Delphi punched his sister, indicating she should bow again as well.  
“I already apolo-“ her words were cut off as Delphi pushed her down, right as they heard hooves approaching.  
A big black horse came standing next to the bowing couple. The king looked down at them, confused by their appearance, and spoke: "Who are you?" The two people standing in front of him looked rather small - they couldn’t have been much taller than his beloved Zelda. To be able to handle a horse at that age, he wondered where they came from.  
"Ariana and Delphi Spinlow, sire," squeaked Delphi. He looked up at the beast, its white manes shining in the sunlight, forming a contrast with the rest of its black body. The horse nodded towards him, making him step back while holding his arms in front of him.  
"Beautiful horse handling, Delphi," the king said while nodding to Ariana.  
Delphi looked up confused: "My sister calmed the thing down, sire."  
"Oh, my apologies then, I thought you were Ariana."  
Ariana snorted at the misunderstanding.   
“And where-“ The king was cut off by the boy.  
"He thought you were a boy," Delphi said while punching his sister.  
"Delphi is a girl’s name." Ariana stuck out her tongue.  
The king looked at them in amusement, forgetting their rudeness for a moment.  
"No, it isn’t!" Delphi exclaimed and almost lunged at his sister, but was stopped at the last moment by their mother.   
"I told you two to behave," she whispered sharply in their ears while grabbing their cuffs and dragging them away. “I’m so sorry they interrupted you, sire. I’ll make sure they stay in line from now on.”   
Surprised by the sudden arrival of what appeared to be their mother, the king stopped her from leaving. "Who are you?" the king bellowed.   
The mother looked up, a scared look on her face. "I am their mother, majesty, and I am very sorry for any trouble they have caused." She held their cuffs in an iron grip, her nerves getting to her.  
"They did not cause trouble, or rather, they fixed the problem themselves."  
The mother looked at her children with disbelief. "These two?" she said before recognising her voice.  
"Yes." The king looked at her, waiting to hear a response commonly said by peasants with children: "But they always cause trouble!" Only now he did not hear that phrase, but rather, something new:  
"What have you done?" The mother looked from the pony and the still shaky princess on top to Delphi and Ariana, their clothes filled with dirt from their fight earlier. "You were fighting again?" Her voice rose up at them.  
"It’s more playing," Delphi muttered. “We didn’t mean to startle her.” Before the mother lashed out at them again, the king intervened.   
"Madam, for the bravery and skills I see in these children, I would like to offer that they come with me. I will take them to the castle and make them part of the guard, where they will live a dutiful life." After hearing that, the children started tugging at their mother’s sleeve, begging her to let them go with the king. It’s what they’d been dreaming of ever since they heard their father was supposedly a knight: someone that protected the people at all costs, someone humble but strong.   
The mother looked at the king, his silhouette dark with the sun behind him. She thought long and hard before looking down at her children. She sighed. "You will send me letters?" she asked. The children nodded silently, making their best effort to look grown up. Delphi even puffed up his chest, making Ariana laugh at his feeble attempt to look strong. She knew her children were going one way or another, so she figured this was the safest way for them. “Well then,” she said, looking up at the king, “I give them permission to go with you, your majesty. Will you promise to keep them save?”  
“I will,” the king answered.  
The mother pulled the kids close and hugged them, squeezing every bit out of them with her tight grip. “I will miss you two. Now, go get your things.”  
After grabbing their belongings - a small sack with most of their possessions - the siblings hurried up to the guard, but they beckoned them to go to the king and princess after they received the sacks.  
Delphi was placed in front of the king, who felt strong arms around him as he sat on the big black beast. Despite being scared of the monster moving under him, the presence of the king made him less anxious.  
Refusing the help of a knight, Ariana climbed onto the horse, placing herself behind the princess. She wrapped her arms around the princess’ body and looked forward over her shoulder. The horse turned under her, towards the big gates of the town.  
“Have you ever travelled on a horse?” the princess asked.  
“I have never travelled at all, your highness, but I have ridden a horse before.”  
“Ariana, was it?” The princess looked sideways, trying to catch Ariana’s eyes.  
“Yes.”  
“Can you not call me ‘your highness’, please?”  
Ariana nodded. “Then, what can I call you?”  
“You don’t know my name?” the princess said in a surprised tone.  
The horse swerved a bit, trying to get past a boulder on the road.  
“No?” Ariana answered, letting out a laugh. “Am I supposed to?”  
“No, no, it’s okay, you’re not. My name is Zelda.”  
The name swirled in Ariana’s head as she tried to remember hearing it before. Somehow, it had a familiar ring to it. The memory started to fade away while they walked out of town, eventually leaving the world black.


	2. Walk in the Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the clouds finally disperse after days of rain Ariana immediatly takes the change to go outside, meeting a group of Bokoblins with unforeseen consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by the most wonderful VeloxVoid! Check out their work on ao3 and fanficnet!

Ariana sighed against the window, her warm breath forming condensation as she looked out over the grounds. Rain was pouring against it, the surface cold to the touch. The sky was getting lighter - indicating that the sun was rising again - but the clouds didn’t seem to disperse. She heard her name being called under her, and – looking down – Delphi stood with a morbid look on his face.

“What’s wrong, Del?” Ariana answered, letting one of her legs fall down the side and resting on the cold stone wall. She was sitting in one of the windows high up on the ceiling; people always wondered how she could get up there, or why she would even be there - the coldness from the stones not inviting in any way and the view not particularly beautiful.

“Ariana, be careful!” His face looked afraid, as if he was the one sitting so high up on a windowsill. “The captain told you to not sit up there again!”

Ariana rolled her eyes at him. “Are we going to train or not?”

“Ari, please!”

She sighed again and dropped down, the floor shaking at her landing as a shock went through her muscles. Delphi had jumped backwards, but now came up to her. “Are you okay?” He held onto her shoulders as she raised herself up, his voice sounding concerned just as it always did, the high pitch making her laugh. Recently his voice had begun to change, making it higher in the most inconvenient times.

“I’m fine, Del,” she said as she pushed him away softly. Her feet felt a bit sore as she walked towards the stairs, but it was nothing compared to a training session with the older knights.

After their 13th birthday, they had been invited to train with ‘the big boys’. At their first training session with them, she had laughed. The captain was right, the knights were at least a few years older than them both, but they were still apprentices - not even close to gaining their title yet. Their strength had surprised her, however, but using the most basic techniques had made them fall on the ground with ease. She laughed at the prospect of taking them on again, hoping she would be strong enough to wrestle them soon. Delphi looked questioningly at her, but she just smiled at him. “Nothing.”

They reached the training grounds, seeing wooden swords clash as the training had already begun. Delphi looked at the knights – apprentices – in awe. Ariana had wondered why, but from the first training session onward he just couldn’t wait to train with them as well, while she usually had to drag him to training. She thought it was their technique - their skill with a sword - that intrigued him so much it made him want to train with them. What else could it be? Their looks? Ariana smiled at herself; the thought had almost made her laugh again. She shook her head and walked up to their captain.

“So, what is it today? Seems like you have already started without us.”

The captain looked down at her, his grimace turning into a sour smile as he answered. “No training for you two today. There isn’t enough room now that one of the stations has been partly flooded.”

“You- you’re serious?” Ariana looked taken aback. “But, don’t we belong with the older knights training right there?” She waved her arm towards them, pointing with an outstretched hand towards the duo fighting each other.

“Well, technically,” he started, but swallowed his words seeing the look on Ariana’s face. “Hey, don’t give me that mean look. I already told you, they would come first; you’re technically still in the younger group. Shouldn’t even be using swords yet…” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, if you want to train, go against each other, but no weapons!”

Ariana narrowed her eyes at him, but couldn’t blame him for half of the roof collapsing in one of the training halls. “Fine.”

She turned towards Delphi, but he shook his head. “I’d rather stay here.” She gave him a questioning look, but - as he shrugged towards her and turned toward the fight – she walked away again. On her way, she went past the weapon stock room. It hadn’t been used in a while, the rain making it impossible to train outside. Not being able to help herself, she went in; grabbing a sword she’d use in training – a quite blunt short sword – and a whetstone, she went back upstairs. Settling herself in a lower windowsill than before, she placed the hilt between her legs and grabbed the whetstone. She had always wanted to sharpen up these swords. They were blunt for a reason, but if she were to become a knight, she would have to learn how to sharpen a blade anyway. Having done this a few times prior made her surer of her strokes as the whetstone slid over the sword, her mind soon completely absorbed by the task at hand.

Hours had passed before she looked around her again, the blade shining in a light she hadn’t notice had appeared a while ago. Looking through the window she felt the rays of the sun hit her face. She blinked a few times in the light before smiling broadly towards it. “Took you long enough.”

As if she knew the sun would come, she opened the window, calculating the jump down before letting herself fall, sword tightly grasped in her hand. She walked along the walls of the fort, the wet grass making sopping sounds as she walked over it with her boots. Fresh rain met her fingers as she let her hand slide through the bushes. It was the first sun in days, and she wanted to get the most out of it. Looking up, it shined right unto her face, warming it up in a pleasant way; her skin absorbed as much as it could with her lack of protective clothes. She had left her armour at the fort since it would draw too much attention to her, only a sword loosely gripped in her hand. The walls that had been closing in on her finally seemed to fall away, the scenery looking perfect; the grass under her feet softly making sounds as she walked onwards, and her body finally relaxed to the sounds of chirping birds.

A scream was heard through the forest, making Ariana jump as the birds flew away over her head. Her legs led her to the sound, soon sprinting towards two people defending themselves from a group of Bokoblins. The red beasts had surrounded a couple of female adventurers, swinging their clubs around to make them afraid. Ariana ran forward, tightening her grip around the handle of her sword, and slicing one of the beasts with ease. It fell down with a loud thud, growing blacker as it exploded, purple particles swirling in the air. It was an almost beautiful sight - the rush Ariana felt making her eager to create more. She let her sword reign freely, the beasts falling like bricks from a collapsing building.

Within a few minutes, the remaining beasts cowered away, seeking refugee amongst the trees. Ariana raised her sword up high in victory, her chest heaving fast and her heart still pounding. She bended forward to catch her breath, hearing footsteps come closer as she did.

“Thank you,” she heard a voice say beside her, “without you, we wouldn’t have made it.”

Ariana raised herself up, smiling at the stranger. Her face looked hard, a battered shield in one hand and the other in her pocket. Her attire looked like that of an adventurer, but by the look of the state it was in, Ariana figured she had been on the move for a while. “No problem at all, it’s what I’m supposed to do.”

The stranger looked questioningly at her. “Are you a knight?” she asked, unconvinced.

Ariana nodded. “One in training.” She looked around to make sure they were alone.

Another stranger approached them, reaching the woman – hugging her – and giving a kiss in relief. “I thought we were done for, Kris.”

The woman called Kris pulled the other close. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” she said and kissed the woman back, this time longer as they forgot about Ariana for a moment.

Ariana’s heart seemed to stop beating as she saw the two women, so close together and unapologetic about their behaviour. She quickly looked away, but her eyes couldn’t help but dart back to the couple. What was it about those two that intrigued her so much?

The other woman had a softer face than Kris; her gown looked new and her hands seemed free of any labour. “So, are you the one that saved us?” Her smile flustered Ariana, who started fidgeting with her hands. She nodded in return. “We should thank her, Kris, shouldn’t we?” Her partner nodded.

Kris went down on her knees – getting the backpack off of her – and opening the flap to search inside. After a bit of rummaging she held up a Hearty Truffle, one of the rare goods that could be found in the woods. “Something like this would be good in a knight’s meal.” Ariana gently took the black truffle from Kris and stood back as the woman rose up again.

“Are you sure you’re okay though? Those monsters looked very scary.” Kris’ partner went over to Ariana, holding her hand while looking into her eyes with soft blue ones.

“Let the knight be, Leva, she told us she was fine.” But the woman kept looking in Ariana’s eyes, softly rubbing her hands. Leva cupped one of her cheeks and her look changed, going from loving to... knowing? What kind of smirk was that, making Ariana’s heart skip beats? Ariana stepped away, the woman letting her go easily as she was pulled back by Kris herself.

She sighed. “I’m sorry, my partner tends to be very up-close early on. I hope she wasn’t too rude towards you.” She handed a bottle filled with something pink. It shone brightly as it bumped against the sides. “Here, for the trouble we caused.”

Ariana’s cheeks reddened as she shook her head, the look on Leva not changing as her smirk turned into a smile. “Oh, let me have a little fun with this one, Kris, she’s something else.” Kris now looked at Ariana as well at the words of her partner.

The same knowing smile played on her lips before she could help it. She shook her head. “Leva, c’mon, we’re going.” And she led them away, Leva whining but obliging.

Ariana put a hand behind her head, giving an awkward smile towards the bickering pair. Letting out a small laugh, she wondered what that was all about. _Hylians outside Castle Town are weird._

She put away the Hearty Truffle and the bottle with the pink light as she turned around and started to walk back towards to the fort. Her thoughts wandered towards their kiss, however. She had never seen women that did that, the gesture only done by men and women together. Was that... even allowed? A thought ran across her mind – her and Zelda resembling the couple, their heads getting closer…

She shook her head, the thought fading from her mind but her heart still racing from it. Zelda wasn’t like that, and neither was she. The thoughts didn’t let her go, however, trapping her mind in almost iron grip. She didn’t hear the fast approach of a gang of monsters; hitting her with their club, she fell to the ground, the beasts quickly surrounding her.

Disorientated, she stood up, sword in hand, as she heard the screams of a dozen Bokoblins making her ears ring as she looked around. In a reflex she cut sideways, hitting one of them, and making the rest back off as it faded to black.

She turned towards another scream, a black monster approaching her with a club made of bone. The pig-like nose was filled with slime – its mouth dripping with saliva, as if she looked tasty to it. In a swift motion she sliced the monster, but as it stood up from the blow it laughed, not even a scratch on its thick black skin. She tried to dodge the falling club but was sent flying as she miscalculated the swing of the monster.

Hitting bark she fell down to the base of the tree, her vision fading as she felt blood run down the side of her face. The feeling in her legs disappeared, her arms following as breathing became harder. Her eyes rolled backwards as the darkness embraced her - the world growing cold - feeling as if she was falling downwards.

_No… not yet… I can’t…_

She could move freely in the darkness, a faint light coming in her vision as she looked around. Feeling came back to her hands as she saw the pink light rest itself between them. As it twisted around her arm feeling, came back there as well, feeling a sword resting in her hand. She gasped as air returned to her lungs, and her eyes shot wide-open as she regained control over them, a blurred image of black, green and red flooding her vision. Her legs stood up, her arms gaining strength as her heart started pounding against her chest, adrenaline shooting through every vein as she shot forward, pushing her sword deep into the black blur. Its skin turned even darker than it was, purple particles soon bursting from the disappearance of its body. With gritted teeth she went on, the particles temporarily blinding as she heard another body fall. Looking around she saw the group of monsters quickly run away, leaving their weapons behind as Ariana let out a war cry towards them, the rush finally starting to calm down, making her vision refocus on the fleeing monsters.

As the monsters disappeared from her vision, she fell on her knees, her legs unable to support her further as the adrenaline left her bloodstream. She looked down at her thighs and let out a gasp. Her trousers were ripped open – soaked with blood –, but the skin under it was bare of any wounds - not even a scratch upon the surface. Wet blood met her hand as she put it on the side of her head, but no wound accompanied the shocking amount of blood in her hair. Tears welled up in her eyes as she held out her hand in front her.

“H-how is this…” A sob rose up from her throat. “How is this possible?”

Beside her hand she could see a group of horses arriving, shouts rising from it as they got closer. The sound of horses stopping, bodies appearing in her vision, confusing words filling her ears and people trying to lay her down in the grass made her feel dizzy, a sudden headache plaguing her mind. A high-pitched scream rose from the group, and the bodies disappeared from her vision. A small, brown-haired figure sat on his knees in front of her, and - as her vision refocused – she could make out the fearful expression of her brother Delphi. Her hands were grabbed as he sidled closer, their knees touching in a comforting way.

“Ari?” His voice was soft, not pushing her to say anything at all.

“I- I don’t know,” she said as she fell forward, grabbing his shirt in a tight grip and sobbing as he wrapped his arms around her. “It’s okay, we’re here now.”

“Someone saved her.” She heard a knight say. As she looked up at him she saw he was holding up the bottle, the pink light now faded from it.

With a newfound strength, she stood up, stumbling towards the knight as he noticed her getting closer. She grabbed the bottle from him and held it close to her heart, tears welling up again. “They did, didn’t they?” she whispered. The image of the women formed in her mind as she tried to remember them, and hoped with her entire being they could arrive at their destination safely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up in 2-3 days so stay tuned!


	3. Water Ornaments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the princess and her knights go out to have fun on a hot summer day, Ariana finds herself remembering something from her youth. She and the princess share a moment after an unforeseen event.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2-3 days, more like 2-3 months, but this is a chapter that wasn't originally planned at this spot, so hey, more Ariana! Hope you enjoy :3

“No thank you,” she heard the princess say. Ariana had just jumped off her horse, tying it down to a nearby pole as she looked at the princess, who was still mounted on her horse. 

The knight tried to refuse - insisting they’d help her with getting off her horse – but the stubborn princess kept refusing, instead directing her horse toward s the only person she was close with. 

“Ariana?” she asked, and - while Ariana knew exactly what to do – she asked the princess what was wrong, who rolled her eyes at the knight and stretched out her hand. “Can you help me?” 

“Of course, my lady.” And Ariana held her hand high above her head, bowing it while supporting Zelda as she came off her horse. 

“Don’t call me that,” the princess said, “You know I don’t want you calling me anything that… reminds me of who I am.” 

Ariana looked at the ground, walking along with the princess hand in hand as she hadn’t let go yet. “I’m sorry, Zelds.” 

Zelda rubbed the back of it with her thumb. “Better.” 

“So… what are we doing here?” Ariana asked as they walked towards a tiny lake in the middle of the semi-shallow swamp. The area was filled with trees and shadow rich spots - perfect for a hot summer day as this one - and the lake itself had rocks to sit on or bask in. Ariana had no clue as to why the princess would bring her knight squad all the way out here, as the palace pools were probably cooler than this lake… if you could call it that. It looked more like a less shallow part of the swamp they had been riding over.

"We're here to swim of course! What else would we be doing here?"

"Well it's not really… big… or cold… Why did we come out here just to swim? Aren't the palace pools better for that ?"

Zelda shook her head. "The palace pools are awful, it always feels like I'm constantly being watched. Here I can enjoy myself, the only ones watching me are the knights… and you. Though I had hoped you'd come swim with me, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Who?" Ariana felt herself being pulled towards the woods. It didn't look like Zelda would answer her question. "You haven't changed yet?"

Zelda looked away from her. "You haven't either."

"That's because you didn't tell me where we were going."

"I wanted it to be a surprise!" The princess held something out to her, which she gently took over as Zelda went behind a nearby tree to change.

"A surprise this is," Ariana whispered as she held out her swimwear. It was obviously Zelda's, the fabric soft and stretchable. It was made of one piece, the back open with only a small line of material holding everything together. Dyed completely black and oddly fitting to her body, Ariana wondered whether the princess had ever intended to wear it herself .

Rising up after she had put it on, she looked directly into Zelda's eyes - who quickly darted them away as she walked towards the water.

Ariana gave her a confused look - but as Zelda was already out of sight - she decided to follow her instead. The princess was already in the water - her blond hair shining in the sunlight - with the knights standing near the horses. Normally they would've been standing right on the edge of the lake - some with and some without armour - to rescue the princess if that was needed.

Now however, only one knight was sitting near the rocks, their feet in the water as they looked out over the swamp.

"They should be arriving soon," Zelda said as Ariana walked into the water, immediately pulled in further by Zelda - as if nothing had happened a few minutes prior.

Ariana asked Zelda again who would be joining them, but she didn't receive an answer as Zelda began pulling her in further, eventually letting them drift together in the cool water.

After lying on her back for a bit, Zelda let go of her hand - allowing her to swim further away. She reached the edge quickly, but somehow the lake didn't seem done - it seemed to go even deeper from this point. She dove in - wanting to investigate the weird feeling she received from this shallow-looking part of the lake - and found a cavern. Letting her eyes readjust she saw it was quite massive, multiple people could easily come out of there; if they had enough oxygen.

Shadows slowly started to form in the caverns, looking like they were getting bigger until a face doomed up out of the darkness. A gigantic fish was aiming for her, shooting upward from the cave it had just come from.

Ariana gasped as she tried to swim back - water rushing itself into her mouth before she swiftly closed it again - trying to reach the surface and breaking the water with a loud splash when she did - before she felt smooth hands wrapping themselves around her ankles, moving up to her waist as she was pulled down again.

A face appeared before her - a face she had seen before in photos Zelda had showed her - one she had never thought she'd meet. A hand caressed her face for a moment as the other stared into her eyes, a confused glance appearing inside bright golden eyes. She the figure shake their head as they placed their hands under her arms, the eyes almost losing their light as they looked away.

She was pulled back up quickly, the force of the water leaving her dizzy into the arms of her attacker… or rather, her saviour? As she felt her body being pulled back to shore, she couldn't help but cling more to the person as her head spun and her lungs protested against the rough movements her body was making. She felt herself being lied down onto soft grass and turned sideways, the remaining water rushing out of her body - filling up her mouth and nostrils as she coughed into her hands.

"Are you okay?" a gentle voice asked. Their hand felt weird on Ariana's shoulder; smooth but prickly - as if it were the scales of a fish - exactly like the ones that had roughly pulled her back in the water a few moments ago.

As she turned herself on her back a familiar face looked down at her, the Zora's red skin and beautiful tail recognisable in an instant.

With one more cough Ariana sat upright . "You're, you're the Zora princess right? Princess Mipha?"

"You shouldn't sit up so quickly, you swallowed a lot of water," she said in response, pushing Ariana back down to the ground.

She heard footsteps approaching, and not long after Zelda was kneeling at her side - one hand resting on Ariana's head as she talked to princess Mipha. The knight closed her eyes, letting the weight of the princess' hand sooth her upcoming headache.

"I'm so sorry, princess Zelda. I didn't mean to startle her like that."

But Zelda shook her head. "It's not your fault, I hadn't told Ariana that you were coming in the first place."

She heard  Princess Mipha stand up. "I expected you to be… someone else, that's why I swam towards you with such urgency. Forgive me for scaring you." And she bowed towards the two still sitting down. 

Ariana rose up as well, clinging one hand to her forehead for a moment as pain struck her head - small stars appearing in her vision as she looked up to the Zora princess. "No need for apologies, princess, I'm completely fine! I'm sorry for disappointing you."

Mipha nodded her head and smiled as Zelda whispered to Ariana to be more formal towards her.

"I'll leave you two, Ariana will have to stay on shore for a while."

"I'm fi-" she tried to say as more coughs interrupted her. She felt the princess tuck her back to the ground by her swimwear. "Fine then." She lied down in the grass beside Zelda; staring up into the sky as her head forced her eyes to shut from the pain caused by her coughs.

As she felt Zelda lying down next to her, a particular memory swam into her mind; she couldn't help but think about the first time she and Zelda had come to a similar lake.

Laughter filled her head as the same burning sun came into her vision; the splashing sounds of nearby fish mimicking the footsteps of Delphi and Ariana.

"Wait up, Ari!"

"C'mon, Delphi, the water has been waiting for us long enough!"

She walked backwards as she turned around, seeing Delphi finally catching up to her. The princess was behind him, surrounded by Zora soldiers who were teaching her how to swim. As she and Delphi already knew how, they were allowed to swim further into the lake; as long as someone went with them for safety. The soldier with them was a Zora that reminded her of a Hyrule Bass, it's face friendly but a bit bloated. They were already swimming ahead as Ariana entered the water.

It felt cool to the touch, spreading the cold through her body as the sun tried to warm it at the same time. Going in deeper the cold spread toward the rest of her body, the coolness a pleasant change from the heat around her.

As she swam ahead she heard Delphi keeping up behind her, while the Zora kept going forward, as if to challenge her too swim faster. She tightened her muscles, pushing herself harder against the water as she tried to catch the soldier in front of her. They were almost in range, if she could only stretch out her hand further-

"Ariana!"

As sudden as she started, she stopped and turned around; a breathless Delphi had stopped a few feet behind her, turning his head behind him.

"What… we just started swimming, Del!"

He shook his head. "Ariana, the… the princess screamed… we have to go back!"

Ariana's eyes widened. In her enthusiasm she had completely forgotten the princess. But there was no way the soldiers couldn't protect her, they had cleared the entire area before even thinking about going here… Despite that she immediately started swimming back, quickly joining Delphi as they almost reached the shore.

A distressed Zelda came running towards them when they were close enough, grabbing Delphi into a tight hug.

Confused he put a hand on her head. "Are you okay, princess?"

Zelda's body turned cold before she started crying again. "A… A… Ari…" Her words were barely heard over her sobs, the princess moving away from the young knight as her tear-filled eyes looked around her.

"I'm here, Zelds, I'm here," Ariana said as she came closer, the princess immediately wrapping her arms around Ariana.

As the princess' sobs calmed down, Ariana asked what had happened. "I couldn't find you."

Ariana looked down at the princess, a gentle smile on her face. "Was that all? Zelds, we were very worried about you."

"You promised to stay close! I wanted to give you something…" And the princess walked away, before coming back with two small bracelets made from coloured string and two shells. She handed the bracelet with purple string to Ariana, then walked over to give Delphi the one with a yellow string. She pulled him back with her after he had put it on and placed him beside Ariana.

"There!" The princess gave them a broad smile. "Now I can tell you apart!"

Delphi raised his bracelet, the shell reflecting the midday-sun brightly before he dropped his arm.

As Zelda grabbed Ariana to show her swimming skills, she couldn't help but look at her brother, who had put on a face of disappointment.

"Del-" But Zelda had already pulled her along before she could ask.

A loud splash faded the memory, the image of Zelda disappearing from her mind until she opened her eyes.

A bright blue sky with sheep-like clouds swam into her vision, until she held her right arm in front of her. The purple string of her bracelet complemented the sky well, and the small shell reflected the sunlight into her eyes.

She felt the princess rise up beside her, before Zelda's face smiled down on the knight. "You okay?" she said as she grabbed Ariana's held out hand.

"Never better." She felt her hand being guided towards Zelda's face, before a soft kiss was planted on her knuckles. Ariana's cheeks burned bright red at the gesture, but despite that she kept looking up at the princess, not wanting to take her eyes off her for a second. It wasn't often they could lie like this together, so far away from the duties of the princess; a place they wouldn't be bothered for a long time.

"You've never taken it off…" She saw Zelda close her eyes and place Ariana's hand on her chin.

Ariana couldn't help but spread out it out, holding the princess' smooth cheek into her beaten-up hand as she answered. "Why would I?"

Zelda placed her hand back down as she laughed. "I was so young when I made that! It must've taken a lot of time to keep it in good condition."

"Oh yeah, but I don't mind at all. I love it all the same."

Zelda's eyes softened as she looked down, her lips curling into a small smile. She raised her hand to place it on top of Ariana's, but a call from the guards pulled them away from each other's stare. They stood up as fast as they could, almost as if they were caught. The black stars erupted in her vision as she did so, reaching out to hold whatever to keep her steady. She found the hands of the princess supporting her, looking into her eyes as she cocked her head. "It's okay," she said with a slight laugh.

As they walked towards the guards, Zelda held her back. "You don't have to take it off now that… now that I can tell you apart." The princess' eyes flicked down involuntarily, before they quickly stared at the ground.

"Huh? Of course not, Zelds." Ariana had followed the princess' eyes downward. Did she just-?

"G-good." And another flick came from her eyes before she promptly turned around. Somehow it made Ariana's heart flutter, making it race from nothing but the soft eyes of the princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been edited by: me, so if you noticed more than 3 grammar mistakes, Please tell me. Punctuation is a thing that exist and that I am working on, but learning goes slow y'know?  
> Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed despite that. The next chapter has *actually* been written, so it shouldn't take too long to upload.


	4. Atropa Belladona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ariana thinks about the last few months with Zelda, and while wandering around she finds the Great Fairy of Kakoriko Village. As she tries to apprehend the fact an actual fairy has blessed her, it appeared hours had past as Zelda calls out for her not far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> VeloxVoid has edited this one again! Check out their works, twitter, and - if you're interested in a little drabble of writing - their ko-fi is also open for now!

The sound of grass being trampled under the hoofs of horses felt almost soothing to her ears as they reached  Kakariko village, a soft breeze in Ariana’s hair as the horses slowed down. As they turned the last corner, the rays of the bright sun hit their faces, making Ariana squint forward, hoping everyone was still going at the same pace.

She had been here once before, remembering the soft air and kind people as they showed her the village when she was young. Not much had changed since then, only the leftovers from a festival held a while back. It was similar to the one they held in her own village, only with more focus on the Goddess  Hylia than the fact the royal family came to visit.

Ariana smiled towards the sun as it disappeared behind the mountains when they went further. When she looked forward she saw the princess looking at her, winking before she turned around. Ariana cocked her head, wanting to spur on her horse to ask the princess what was wrong, until she noticed Delphi had begun to ride next to her.

“Sup, Del?” she asked. They usually had to stay in line when entering a village, giving somewhat of an orderly fashion to the villagers. “You need help with your horse in a bit?”

“Why would I need help?” He looked down at the reigns. “I’ll be fine getting off of him.”

Ariana shook her head, stopping her horse just behind the rest of the group. The princess was already being helped getting off the her royal stallion. “If you say so.”

“I’m a knight, Ari,” he said as he stopped as well, trying to get his feet out of the stirrups. He struggled to get his other foot lose, miscalculating the time he needed to step off the horse, and felt himself tumbling backwards, a flat hand against his back pushing him into a stable position again.

“A knight in training that is,” Ariana said, walking towards the group of knights that were already in line to go along with the princess. She just barely saw a messenger running up the long oak stairs before she reached them.

The princess turned around and directed some knights to keep watch near the entrance. “They said there have been attacks from monsters. We have to make sure the villagers are safe as we stay here.”

The knights grunted a reply and went on their way, Delphi quietly going along with them, and a handful of others already going up the stairs. Ariana tried to leave with the others, but was held back by a soft hand on her arm.

“I want you to  look around the village.” The princess handed Ariana a sachet and a letter, listing a variety of ingredients , her other hand still resting on Ariana’s arm . “And buy this for me. I won’t have time to do it myself.”

“I can do it, your highness!” a little voice squeaked.

They turned around to see a small kid standing in formation, trying to look as formal as possible. She was wearing the normal attire of a woman, the soft red tones complementing her skin. “My mother works at the store, it’ll be easier if I got it.”

The princess let out a small laugh and looked at the knight. “Is it okay if she does it?”

“Fine by me,” Ariana answered. Zelda handed over the list and the sachet, telling the kid to keep the change if she brought it along in a bag. The kid ran off, a big smile on her face as she went towards what seemed to be the store.

“And you,” Zelda said, poking Ariana softly on her shoulder, “what will you do? ”

“Guess I’ll look around the village anyway. The knights won’t need me right?”

Zelda shook her head. “You’ll be fine.” She smiled at Ariana again, something she had been doing more often for some reason, her usual, somewhat sour face replaced with one of happiness as soon as Ariana was close to her. Was it that they were able to spend more time together now that Ariana was allowed to go on journeys as an apprentice? “Hey,  Zelds , why did you-“ Ariana’s words were cut off by a  Sheikah messenger, asking Zelda for direct attendance to the meeting upstairs. The princess apologised, leaving Ariana alone with her question.

She sighed, wondering where to go in this small village. The signs weren’t helpful, being plastered with small leaflets with all kinds of symbols. She couldn’t read them, wondering if they were the  Sheikah’s own, or from a language long forgotten. She looked around; the village had not changed over the years - now only one thing stood out to her. One of the so-called ‘shrines’ could be seen from where she was standing, a big brown thing sitting on top of the mountain. It looked out of place, almost ugly in her eyes. Still she decided to check it out, the odd shape and placement drawing her towards it. She passed a few buildings, one a store with magnificent clothing that she could never afford, and found her way up the mountain, a small trail leading directly towards the shrine.

Once she reached the thing, she stretched out her hand and touched it. Cold as ice and as smooth as rocks in a river, it made her realise that this was also one of the things Zelda was researching. The way it popped out of the ground, like it was buried there, gave her a feeling of unease. She knew the princess had been researching big spider-like machines, that were supposed to protect them from a great evil. But these things? So different yet so much the same. Even the patterns on the back looked the same as on the spiders. She retracted her hand, the memory of her first meeting with one of those spiders still fresh in her mind.

She turned around, facing the path down. But another path led further up the mountain, a small forest not far from where she was standing. She went towards it, not knowing what else she could do except getting away from the shrine as soon as possible. She reached the edge of the forest, the soft breeze she felt on the way there on her skin again, the trees not blocking any of it.

As she went deeper, she heard a soft sound to her right, as if a little chime was ringing. As she looked in the direction of the sound, she saw a blue light disappear into the bushes. Wondering what it was, she followed it slowly, making sure it couldn’t be startled again. When she pushed aside the bushes, she could see the thing sitting on a high ledge, looking out over the forest. It had the body of a bunny, bright blue, and the face of an owl with leaves replacing its ears. It looked almost majestic standing on there, its white eyes piercing as it looked at her. Quickly, it turned around and ran, leaving blue particles behind before it disappeared into the forest again. She followed it, wanting to see where it would take her.

After she had climbed the ledge and pushed aside the bushes , however, she noticed it had vanished, having led her to  a  small clearing with a giant dark pink flower with golden arches separating the  petals from the centre. F aint sparkle s left the centre , being replaced with water that reflected the surface perfectly, small floating fairies could be seen around it, leaving as soon as Ariana came closer. She climbed the steps that were made out of hardened fungi, mainly p ale-coloured toads tools . As she reached the top she saw the water ripple, making her step closer as nothing from the surface had caused it.

More ripples started to appear as she looked closer, violently shaking the water until something massive erupted from it, making Ariana stumble backwards and fall on her  backside. A sharp sting went through her hip on the side she fell on, but her focus shifted towards the gleaming creature before her. 

Bright shining scales were worn over a woman’s body, her clothes barely hiding the skin underneath, which looked healthy but almost god-like in the sun, and a silver necklace adorned her neck. Her hair was neatly done in a style Ariana could’ve never thought of herself, and somehow the woman’s make-up was perfect despite the fact she just came splashing out of a pool of water. Just how deep could that pool be if it could house a creature this big and still completely hide it?

With her mouth slightly open from the spectacle, Ariana stood up, feeling her sore hip as just some small sting compared to the beauty her eyes were witnessing right now. Even though the woman wasn’t the epitome of beauty, the way she moved around almost made her divine. A bellowing sound came from her mouth as she spoke, sending involuntary shivers down Ariana’s spine.

“Oh my, oh my.” The being came closer, inspecting Ariana the way she had inspected the fountain. “What do we have here?”

She reached out one hand, Ariana backing off as it came close.

“Do you not know who I am?”

Ariana shook her head, her feet shuffling further  back on the toadstool. 

“I am a Great Fairy, Ariana.” Her ears sharpened at her name, her eyes looking directly into the other woman’s, visibly confused.

The woman laughed softly, as to not scare her again. “Oh my, you do not know. That is new to me. Have you never heard of a being protecting the lands, blessing farmers and knights alike?”

“I have,” Ariana finally spoke up.

“Ah! That is great. Now…” She reached out her hand again, one finger pointed at Ariana as it came closer. When she didn’t back off, she could feel the fairy’s finger slightly touch her hip. As soon as it made contact, the pain was lifted, a soothing aura embracing the area as the woman retracted her hand. “There we go. Feel better?”

Ariana nodded. “I thought the fairies were a myth, as no one has ever seen them before.”

“Well, that is partly true. Of course we exist, but we only show ourselves to people who are… special, in one way or another. The farmer will get their blessing but will  sooner  think of the goddess than me.” She looked the apprentice up and down, and Ariana swore she could see the tongue of the woman going over her lips. “Have you come here for a blessing?”

Ariana thought for a moment. She had just come there to follow the rabbit, to fill the time before she could see the princess again. “I… Not in particular, no.”

“Shame, that is a shame, but now that you’re here… you cannot think of something?” The woman came closer, resting her arms on the toadstool Ariana was standing on and slightly turning her head away from the apprentice. “I’m all ears.”

Ariana took another moment to think, then nodded when she was ready. “I want to ask for protection. Not for me, but for the princess, Zelda, and my brother, Delphi. Please lend them your powers when they need it.”

“Beautiful  _ and _ selfless, my  my , the princess sure has a promising knight to aid her.” She turned her head back, getting closer to Ariana as she backed off, the woman being too close for her liking.

“I will fulfil your wish, Ariana, but if you could help me with something? Can you grab some of that Blue Nightshade over there? The blue ones glowing under the trees.”

Ariana turned around, the blue flowers glowing brightly under the trees. Quickly, she looked up, only to realise the sun was still high in the sky. She felt a slight push when she hesitated, and quickly retrieved the flowers. The fairy grabbed them when she was close enough, and told Ariana to close her eyes.

Reluctantly she did, hearing the flowers being crushed between the woman’s hands. After that she felt a slight breeze, something tingling her cheeks. She opened her eyes and found blue particles twirling around her, before they disappeared in the air.

Ariana blinked, looking confused at the fairy before her vision was obscured again, this time by a hand that placed a flower in her hair. It was done so precisely Ariana wondered if the fairy had done it, her fingers about half the size of Ariana’s own head.

“There,” she heard the fairy say, “you look even more beautiful with that blue in there.” The fairy smiled at her , not even trying to hide the fact her eyes looked almost longingly at Ariana. “Now won’t you stay a bit longer? Help me out with-“

The woman’s voice was drowned by Ariana’s name filling the air, her focus on the panicked voice of the princess, who was apparently searching for her. She immediately turned around and walked away, completely forgetting about the divine being behind her.

The fairy let out a small laugh. “I can’t even beat a princess nowadays? What a shame. Perhaps we will meet again, fair knight, and I hope I won’t have to fulfil those blessings.”

Ariana heard a loud splash of water, indicating the fairy had left again, but she didn’t care. The voice of the princess had sounded worried and she couldn’t let Zelda worry. She ran through the forest, ignoring the cries of birds as she rushed past, lizards scurrying away from the places her feet landed. As she exited the forest, bright light shone on her face, momentarily blinding her before she continued her way downwards. Panting, she reached the base; the princess was out of view but her small cries could still be heard. With one last sprint she reached Zelda, smiling as she did to ease the princess’s mind.

“I’m here!” she said, bending over to catch her breath. “You need me?”

The princess came over to her, raising her up and giving her a tight hug, making Ariana choke for a moment. “You were gone for hours, I was worried sick.” She heard Zelda say in her neck.

“For hours? But  Zelds , it’s…” Her words faded as she looked up at the sky, bright oranges and pink colouring the clouds in the dark blue sky. “But how…?”

She felt another person hug her, now from behind. “We thought you had left, what with all the recent attacks.” She heard Delphi sob, his face buried in her hair.

Ariana didn’t know what to say. Had the fairy tricked her? She felt tired now, as if she had run across  Hyrule field instead of a small forest. She leaned more into Zelda, who was having trouble of keeping her upright.

“What have you been doing for so long, Ari?” Her voice sounded concerned again. Hands pushing on her shoulders slightly as she lost more strength in her legs.

“Just being… busy in the forest.”

“For so long?”

Ariana felt her body supported by strong hands as she fell back and leaned against her brother, no strength left to raise up again. “Ariana, you’re exhausted.” Now Delphi sounded concerned too.

“I’m fine, just-“ she pushed off, but felt herself falling in Delphi’s gentle arms again.

The princess sighed. “Clearly you’re not well for travel. Besides, it’s getting dark.”

“ Zelds , don’t let me be the reason you won’t make it back home on time.” Her eyes closed themselves, and opening them made her vision blur, two princesses now standing before her. She reached out a hand but missed, letting it fall back down again. “You can leave me here.”

The princess’s face came close to hers. “Leave you? Ari, I can’t believe you would ever suggest something like that.” A hand was placed on her cheek, the thumb softly rubbing the skin just below her eye. “We’ll stay here for the night, Lady  Impa will not mind it if we do. You will stay with me, so I know you will be well-rested in the morning.” A smile flashed over her face again when she continued talking, but Ariana’s eyes had closed themselves and lead her into a deep slumber.

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic will not be in order. I write whenever I want and so some chapters might come easier than others. I do intend to finish this piece so stay tuned for more :3


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